David Wright, Callisto and Friends will headline the 2010 e-day festival on 22nd May in Holland at the Theatre de Encke, EW Oirschot, near Eindhoven. This will be a 2 hour evening performance of electronic music featuring new solo work by David Wright, perhaps with another surprise guest; a Callisto set  from the forthcoming album Nyx but different from that played recently at Hampshire Jam, and the evening will probably conclude with some new Code Indigo pieces as performed at the recent Derby event. It is hoped that the performance will also feature a specially designed graphics backdrop. More details to follow but for all information about tickets, the venue, hotels etc then please visit the Groove website for details.

Just a quick update on an earlier post, The Boddy, Hoffmann-Hoock & Wright electronic music album “Trinity” is now available from 12th January 2010 to download in MP3 (256 rate) format from AD Music or in flac format from musiczeit. AD Music will provide the release on CDr through its website if required with double CD tray plus cover, tray and on body disc art. Check out the AD Music online store for more details

AD Music will be releasing a 2 hour download album of the Boddy, Hoffmann-Hoock & Wright performances recorded at Derby and Bielefeld in September 2009. Most of the material is taken from the excellent Derby performance that was so nicely recorded by sound engineer Nigel Turner-Heffer. The electronic music will also be available from AD Music as a double CDr. The MP3 download version will be available online on 10th January 2010 from AD Music and in flac format on musiczeit. It will be available from other online download sources from early February. The double CDr should be available by the end of January 2010.

David Wright has just finished mastering the music and the official press release states:

This is a recording of the AD Music festival performance of September 2009 by the trinity of Ian Boddy, Klaus Hoffmann-Hoock and David Wright. The music has been eq’d and digitally mastered with only minor edits to the actual performance External noise and audience applause has been removed. The musicians extend their thanks to all those who attended for their contribution in making the event, and the music, so enjoyable.

Track listing:

CD1
01. Halcyon (Massey, wright & boddy) (13:43)
From CD Shifting Sands by Ian Boddy & David Wright – AD Music 2009
02. Conundrum (Wöstheinrich/Hoffmann-Hoock/Reuter) (7:35)
From CD Conundrum by Hoffmann-Hoock & Wöstheinrich – DiN 2007
03. Shifting Sands (Wright & Boddy) (14:56)
From CD Shifting Sands by Ian Boddy & David Wright – AD Music 2009
04. Walking with Ghosts (Wright) (12:48)
From CD Walking with Ghosts by David Wright – AD Music 2002
05. Foundry (Boddy) (5:40)
from CD elemental by Ian boddy – DiN 2006

CD2
06. Trinity (Boddy, Hoffmann-Hoock & Wright) (19:28)
previously unreleased
07. Virupaksha (Wöstheinrich/Hoffmann-Hoock/Reuter) (7:58)
From CD Conundrum by Hoffmann-Hoock & wöstheinrich – DiN 2007
08. State of Bliss (Wright) (14:39)
From CD Dreams and Distant Moonlight by David Wright – AD Music 2008
09. Elemental (Boddy) (8:46)
from CD Elemental by Ian Boddy – DiN 2006
10. Comets (Boddy & Wright) (7:04)
From CD Shifting Sands by Ian Boddy & David Wright – AD Music 2009
11. Sehnsucht (Hoffmann-Hoock) (8:13)
From CD Psychedelic breakfast by klaus hoffmann-hoock – heart & mind 2003

David also added that the live versions of Walking with Ghosts and State of Bliss contained on Trinity are different to the live versions released on his recent “Sines of Life” solo album.

More details to follow…………..

Further to our recent blog, we can now confirm that the next AD Music electronic music festival will be held on Saturday 28th May 2011 at the Derby Guildhall. Ticket prices will be £35.25 (£30 plus VAT) and will be on sale later in 2010 when the line up is announced.

AD Music confirms that it will not be holding an electronic music festival in Derby in September 2010 following on from the successful 2009 event. However, it will continue with an annual event in April 2011 at the Derby Guildhall. There are numerous reasons for this decision, including that in the opinion of some fans, early September isn’t a good month to hold the event, but booking later in the winter months is problematic and is also in the same time frame as other em events like Hampshire Jam, E-live and electronic music circus. So, while AD Music would certainly like to continue to organize the event, it is thought experimenting with an event earlier in the year a better option, but April 2010 is too soon. No date has been set yet, but the date currently being considered is Saturday April 2nd 2011.  Although no line up has been discussed, it is thought that the next event may be an all UK line-up. Confirmation will be appear on the AD Music online store website very soon.

We’re pleased the initial posting on the electronic music forum caused so much interest. It certainly resulted in some new AD Music fans. However, we would like to add a footnote to it all, and please do not take it as being argumentative, just pointing out the facts. Comparing European prices to USA domestic prices with postage and currency issues in play is both utterly pointless and meaningless. If a fair price comparison is to be made, then please compare “like for like”. AD Music prices are not high in the European market. DiN new release CDs $18.00, AD Music CDs $18.45, other outlets $22.25. It’s impossible for AD Music, as a business that wants to survive and continue to release music on CD and digitally, to give free postage. As has been pointed out, we do offer free postage on orders over £24 plus various offers to help fans and redress the balance as best we can. As for availability in the USA, AD Music has been importing to Lloyd Barde and Eurock for 18 years, and that’s not exactly been kept a secret! Prices through them range from $16.25 to $20 and with new distribution available in 2010 through the likes of new world and ear/rational, USA fans will have more choice of outlets to purchase the music from, without the added postage costs incurred when buying from the UK. So seriously folks, a thread implying that AD Music CDs are priced high is not only misleading and inaccurate, but just a little bit unfair, don’t you think?

Fortunately though, the negative comments are far, far, far outweighed by the positive ones. We have received a lot of emails on the subject from readers of our blog and this is typical of them all: “We are lucky that we found AD Music in 1995 and as well as always being produced to an extremely high standard the cost of cd/downloads is, in our opinion, staggeringly good value for money, indeed we would pay more if asked…” from S. Myers

“Happy Christmas One and All” from all at AD Music.

When I began to create my next instrumental music album “Ways”, I thought very deeply about the best ways to create it.  I wanted to reflect my deep respect and appreciation for freedom and personal creativity, yet I knew that I needed to somehow transform that message to represent a tangible and graspable sequence of ideas – a theme that could possibly be related to on a wider scale without sacrificing any musical integrity.  And that was when I knew that I had found a footing, because the process of creation, the thought structures and its final visage all married in what felt like a great harmony to me.  I knew that in order for me to speak my message it needed a purpose as its host.  That intention is that if you drive long distances, I humbly hope that it will be worthy of accompanying you as a friend in the stereo of your car – for it was largely written with this idea in mind.  If you do not drive or travel much – I have attempted to create something that will help you travel those spaces in your mind.

After taking on board some technical feedback from David from the previous two albums, I hope that this album will be a smooth journey.

The tracks all (albeit quite obscure in some cases) relate to ways as a theme.  It is dedicated to two things that have brought me a lot of magic  in my life – lots of playback volume and open roads.

Track List:
1. Vortex Ethnicana
2. Universal Nomad
3. Island Flowers
4. Homelands
5. Loona Faze
6. Love Mirage
7. Tennis
8. Vocuitar
9. Zeros & Ones
10. Ways
11. The Path To You

And I would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a very happy season and a fulfilling new year.

RamsayGee (December 2009)

(Editors note: This excellent album will be available for download early 2010)

I’ve been listening through the live recordings for the September 2009 Boddy, Hoffmann-Hoock & Wright electronic music concerts in Derby and Beilefeld. Glad to say that there is almost certainly a live MP3 download album in there and thanks to the excellent quality of the Derby set in particular (superbly mixed live by Nigel Turner-Heffer) there’s not a great deal of post production work required. I’ll feature more information early January on the AD Music online store, by which time I’ll have had a chance to listen through in more detail.

David Wright 17/12/09

In response to some fantastically relevant thoughts and views about this elusive and deeply fascinating ‘genre’ that is ever evolving and mutating into new sonic entities on literally a daily basis (well it certainly is for the artists behind it’s creation), I feel more and more saddened when I become increasingly aware of how many people are willing categorize things – most of all – because it is my deepest passion and love – the music we create.  In my head it seems very safe to say that ‘electronica music’ is a genre so named because of the primary use of electronic sounds.  To me though – I cannot pinpoint one single source of influence.

It is true that the 80’s were a magnificent cluster of years in which the electronic music explosions really made themselves heard and felt, but so much of that had its roots as well in the 70’s.  Lest we forget the Floyd opus ‘Dark Side of the Moon’ and it’s bleeps and sqwuaks bravely rearing their newfound heads through some of the most ‘off the wall’ and artistically fashioned rock of its day.  Rock that not only dared to be, but became because it dared to be – and largely by the aid of these electronic visitations.

Today, any good listen to a William Orbit remix or production, or the truly artistically inspired and mechanically minded grindings of Marius De Vries (especially on the Bjork and later Madonna works) are all in my opinion reminiscent of from the early  70’s and the greatest parts of the 80’s.  And so what I am trying to say is that I cannot pinpoint a particular influence because in truth all influences have their own previous ones too. While I was being born, people were thinking like I would be thinking now – sonically.

I think for me as a music creator in this day and age it is so important to praise and acknowledge influence (if nothing than through courtesy) yet not to become obsessed with it.  I have dallied with pieces created from wholly inside my head – only to discover new artists later who have already ‘sold’ the idea.  But the last thing I would ever want as a musician is to be labeled with somebody else’s words.  And in my travels and discoveries I have met so many people who feel that way – these are interestingly the people who will not listen to any mainstream thing.

And so this is why I believe that ‘electronica’ is not a genre.  It is not something that can be classified or condemned for borrowing or creating anything new or old.  It is simply another thing – and at the same time, part of a very telepathic force, as all music truly is.  We are simply the paintbrushes to a language that is being spoken around us all the time – how we interpret a language can certainly add to its meaning and some of that meaning is derived from what we have heard spoken before.  As for the language that comes from inside of us first – it is my language.  No one else’s.  If somebody likes my language and associates with it – I will be where any artist in that position would be –in heaven.  But if they don’t – I cannot call myself a failure, because how do you fail at something in the eyes of someone who does not understand what you are saying?  If I was to say it in their language –well then I would not be speaking mine any more.

That said – I’m not sure I want anyone to understand what I am saying musically – I want them to feel it – beyond words and beyond ultimate description.  That is the way that I would like to communicate.  And I believe that there are many many people in the world out there who like communication on that level.  If people were able to stop categorizing what we are doing and begin to feel it rather – I believe then that many boundaries would be eradicated.

Electronica is not a category or genre, so throw away the books and burn the rules and forget any pre-conceived expectations.  It is not ‘safe’ music.  It is a good dolloping of what may not be known – just like tomorrow, and the day after that.  We face tomorrow’s every day but we still feel wary of what we do not know musically? To me, life is about adventure and learning and variety.  I am not truly any sort of creator if I am creating something that has already been created.  That to me is when I have failed – if I have created something last.

Electronica is the ‘genre’ of first time creators.  And I have a dream that some day the world will listen to it with that same interpretation.

Submitted by RamsayGee – December 2010

2009 has seen a significant rise in the profile of “electronic music” through the likes of La Roux, Little Boots et al and from a certain point of view it could actually be considered a good thing as it should have had the potential to bring that new interest in the direction of people and acts such as ourselves.

However, my personal feelings are that, whilst Lady Gaga, Little Boots etc are giving the genre a little more focus, they are distorting the reality of what this genre is all about. Curiously, electronic music covers a wide range of styles from electro to sequenced to ambient to concrete to sonic manilpulation with samples etc, yet what the “public” perceive as being electronic music is about making mainstream, formatted and predictable pieces with a Moog Little Phatty and a Yamaha Tenori-On that aren’t pushing new boundaries or looking to new sounds or approaches. I’ve got Little Boots’ album (a 12 year old daughter who thinks it’s the same as what her dad does – WTF???!!!) and whilst yes it’s quite good in the commercial “bubble-gum pop” sense and I personally don’t find it offensive to my ears, it’s far too polished and exact, it’s entire spectrum is made up of safe ground that’s tried and tested, little variation of themes, no room for improvisation and lacking in soul.

And maybe that’s why we don’t receive so much attention, we don’t play safe (though we could!!!) and we don’t make instrumental music to appeal to a specific audience hungry for the next “big thing”. We do what we do because it’s what we love to do. Our respective styles simply don’t fall into the mainstream ideal and now the “specific audience” has had it’s preconceptions manufactured in the same way as the music.

To talk of the live side of things, there has been a lot of criticism of these new artists about the use of backing tracks etc and this is something where I think a balance has to be brought to the argument. Playing live, particularly as a solo artist, can be a tough call – on a personal level, through both a lack of financial backing and physical storage space, I don’t have much in the way of synthesizer hardware (just a Roland JV-2080!!!) and I am predominantly software reliant, but I have a burning desire to perform so, I have to use backing tracks through either DVD (with added visuals) or audio tracks sequenced on a computer. From a certain point of view, my live stuff would not be considered by some to be totally live – I have to rely on my good looks and sparkling personality – LMAO!!!. But, as a trained musician, I play to those backing tracks, using the small amount of hardware I have to it’s best. But it’s the music you make that’s important, and satisfying the passion to create and keep creating using old and new methods, adapting existing practices or approaches and discovering your own methods of creativity through experimentation, in some respects, the modern musician is a kind of text book definition of the word “evolution” – my second album is due for release in early 2010, it’s wholly different to my first and I’ve started work on my third which again will be different to the previous two in that I am experimenting more, and taking a different approach. And it isn’t anything that any of us in this game aren’t already doing and haven’t been doing since the first piece of electronic equipment appeared. And it’s that which is missing from the mainstream and now, to some extent, has been alienated by the influence of modern “chart-hungry” acts that have clouded the true concepts and feel of the genre.

This brings me onto the question of longevity. To some extent, those that do well on what some would consider the underground scene, be it an electro act or an ambient act, will, I believe, have far more longevity than those who seek and hopefully fot ehm, find the brightest lights – an example of this that I would like to cite is that of John Foxx and Ultravox. Okay, in fairness, Ultravox with Midge Ure hit off a fantastic tour this year and the tickets sold well – but, they haven’t enjoyed longevity as a group or as individuals. Billy Currie releases quality instrumental electronic music now and again but isn’t prolific  in terms of live performance, the drummer who was a leading light in the advancement of modern rhythm programming and manipulation, sadly now a case of Warren who? (in terms of public exposure over thelast 20 odd years), Chris……erm, yeah, bass player wasn’t he? and of course Mr. Ure himself who, and bear in mind I’m a huge fan of his music, effectively lost his musical “mojo” some years ago and is now doing exactly what he said he would never do by belting out 30 year old songs well into his 50’s. Then, as a kind of curious contrast, you have a certain Mr. Foxx. Now let’s create a perspective thing here: who is the one so many people in electronic music cite as their main influence? John Foxx. Who is the man that created a ground-breaking album called “Metamatic” which still sounds as fresh today as it did during first airplay nearly 29 years ago? John Foxx. Who has a strong yet subtle public persona, yet is still as much a mystery today as he was back in 1976? John Foxx. Who has released a myriad of releases that helped to define an ecletic cross-genre approach and style from techno to ambient to electro? John Foxx. Okay, he’s one of a number of influential people around at this time (Martin Ware, Vince Clark, Depeche guys to name a few) who have had a massive impact on the modern electronic music scene, but the point is that he has never received the high profile attention that the MU era Ultravox did, and I feel that this perfectly high-lights how exposure can sometimes stunt the growth of the short-term successful musician – looking at John Foxx, I think that his career and creative output is all the stronger for the lack of bright lights and chart success. So, history will resolve this equation, but as it stands, when the likes of Little Boots and Lady Gaga have turned to cellulite and wrinkles, those on the underground will most likely be going from strength to strength

To sum up, I pose this question: Could a 14 year old girl who is now into “electronic music” and loves the likes of Lady Gaga and Little Boots seriously embrace the true vibe of the genre from such luminaries as Ian Boddy, the ORIGINAL Human League, John Dyson, Radio Massacre International, Jarre, TD, Tomita – and of course, David Wright!!!

Posted by Neil Fellowes (AKA Geigertek)

AD Music would like to post the following statement in response to several recent posts about CD prices and downloads on the em forum.

The price for 2 newly released CDs direct from the  instrumental music label AD Music website at £11.39 each ($18.52 at todays rate) is £22.78/$37.04 plus order postage to the USA of £4.25/$6.91 and that equates to £27.03/$43.95. As has already been stated, perceived increased prices for USA customers are caused by postage rates for small orders and the US dollar rate, plus the fact that CDs have traditionally been less expensive in the USA, not because we have hiked up our prices! As a matter of record, way back in 1995 AD Music CDs were priced at £10.49 ($16.20 at 1995 rates) and we do not consider the increase over 15 years to be excessive. It does seem odd that the value of the music is perceived as so much less now than it was then.

However, at that time, with wider USA distribution, AD Music CDs were available in the USA through some outlets at a lower price more in line with the traditionally lower USA consumer CD pricing. But AD Music only received between £0.50 and £1.50 gross profit on a CD sold in the USA under those prices, making it very difficult to sustain! That distribution is no longer available (although we hope to have a new USA deal in place next year) and so we can only sell new CDs from our website at one global price and that is a price set to enable AD Music to survive as an independent label in the current global market and produce the music we do – it’s as simple and as brutal as that!

AD Music provides free postage worldwide on orders over £24 and various offers and discounts to its fan base in an attempt to redress the balance, eg 6 pack for £10 and reductions when ordering numerous titles, and it does have many titles at lower prices, some as low as £2.49 and we find that many, many customers take advantage of this by ensuring their orders are over £24. In the last month, a free 135 minute download or the equivalent double CDr at £5.99 was offered for pre-orders of Sines of Life Volume 1, which, as a point of interest, when added to, for example, the aforementioned 2 CD order, would give a USA customer free shipping and a total order cost for 2 CDs and a double CDr of $46.77 (£28.77).

AD Music would love to be in a position to offer ALL fans worldwide ALL its CD product at a lower price, but it just isn’t financially possible if we’re to survive – it’s why we’re embracing MP3 downloads (and offer free MP3 downloads) and that is now ensuring our survival – check out just how many independent labels are actually left in the em genre producing constant CD runs, particularly for NEW artists?! The sustainable em CD market isn’t there any more aside for a few established acts and even for them, sales are drastically down, and that can’t be blamed solely on CD prices, but also on the internet, downloads, blatant piracy (FACT – 90% of internet downloads are illegal) and a society that now wants something for nothing and it would appear no longer considers the music of any real value.

AD Music titles are available from other sources, and can be obtained at similar and perhaps even marginally lower prices in Europe and the UK through our distributors and the usual suspects em mail order outlets, but shipping to the USA will still probably involve having postage added. However, there are still mail order outlets in the USA – Eurock and Lloyd Barde spring to mind and they have access to our catalogue. And as we said, we’re currently looking at several new USA distribution options. Distribution and selling music globally is too complicated to go into here, and the problems facing both independent labels like AD Music and the many excellent single artist labels around now, are quite daunting as they try to get their music, CDs in particular, out to a global market.

We’re producing genre specific electronic music that’s below the radar for most of the music listening world and the associated music media (even allowing for the internet), and that makes what we do hard! But however much we discuss prices, there is the fundamental problem of differences in the basic cost of CDs from country to country and fluctuating exchange rates. Fans in other countries will understandably only relate to the price that they would normally pay for a similar home grown product.

However, years ago, didn’t fans around the world buy into this music because it was an artistic underground genre? Didn’t they buy into the creativity of the music? Perhaps all we can do is remind fans everywhere that electronic music is a genre, and a small genre at that now! Don’t be mislead by the perception that ALL music can be readily available on the cheap. Factory churned out “pop” music and indeed much of the classic rock from the past 40 years is massed produced with a huge industry behind it. What we do is art on a cottage industry level by comparison and it simply can’t be viewed in the same way. Perhaps that’s the problem, perhaps people are blinded by this now? They see the cheaper music on the internet and in supermarkets, believing that em music should be the same, perhaps having forgotten the roots of what the music was all about in the first place and why they originally bought into it. Electronic music isn’t and can’t be treated like pop music unless it ceases to become a genre and becomes instead what many fans hate – a commercial, popular, watered down music culture for the masses.

Clearly, we DO understand that customers need to get the best deal, and why shouldn’t they get the best deal? But conversely, if a lot of emotion, time, effort and money goes into producing something – i.e. this “art” we call our music – then is it so unfair to expect to receive a fair reward for it? Is it so unreasonable for the musicians who invest so much of themselves to create their music, and the few independent labels left who do their best to get it to you, to expect the opportunity to break even at the end of each year or perhaps (shock, horror) actually even make a small profit to actually invest in concerts and new music? Is this music now really of so little value?

While it’s clear that many people understand and support independent labels and artists (that’s obvious from the many posts on this forum), there are, sadly, many more that do not. And that is probably because they have no idea whatsoever what is involved in producing music, whether CD or download, no idea of the complex issues, networks and unseen costs involved, or basically just how difficult it is to survive in the music industry today, either as a musician or as a label.

Okay….. we can’t argue with the; “Why should I care? I just want to buy a CD”, response. There is no response to that. As musicians, as an independent label, all we can do is what we’ve done here; that is to try and educate people about the financial realities of producing and selling music globally, and of the very real possibility of the eventual demise of the genre if artists and labels no longer see the point in investing their time, their emotion and their finances to get the music out there, if they’re just going to get ripped off by a global market that has such little respect for them and their art/music that it doesn’t want to pay for the music at all, or considers it such a cheap commodity that it’s just not worth producing in the first place. Just think about what the genre will be left with!

To those who do show us support by purchasing the music legally from whatever source is best for them, and we gladly say to everyone, shop around for the best deal, we offer our thanks for that support and the promise of our continued efforts to seek ways of maintaining the balance and seeking the best prices for everyone in the future both for download and for CD.

AD Music 12/12/2009

During the time of my involvement with  instrumental music label AD Music, I’ve watched with interest the changing nature of the modern electronic music business, and the one thing that keeps popping up is the issue of the “download”. Yes, that seemingly irksome little process whereby we connect our computer to that big invisible thing called the “internet”, press a few buttons and hey presto! – instant music on our computer. But it seems that all are not very happy with this cocky little “download” whipper-snapper and what I have found to be most fascinating about this “download” issue is how it is nothing more than history repeating itself – yet again!!!

I’ll nail my colours to the mast right away – I love download. I love what it offers, I love what it represents and I love it’s benefits. I am old/young (delete as applicable) to remember the hoo-haa when the CD made it’s first appearance and with some amusement tinged nostalgia, I recall the heartfelt bleatings of the poor souls, bound by space and time to forever hold onto the icon that was – vinyl. Yes, vinyl, big round pieces of plastic that you put a needle on and everyone got hysterical about when the CD came along with shouts of “there’s no crackling noises” and “it’ll ne’er replace the lump of plastic!!!”

I’m a big fan of the “MP3 download” and I’ve expotentially increased my music library through download, I’ve found gems that I never thought I would be able to have as a digital file, lost albums re-discovered and for a fraction of the price of the physical equivalent. And as an artist, I’ll look for the way forward, the best ways to reach an audience so that the time and emotional investments I make to create the product in the first place will stand the greater opportunity of reaching those I want to hear my music. And for those who resist the download option, I wonder how they will deal with the notion that up-and-coming music execs will one day soon phase out the CD and what happens then? Do you stop listening to new music? The whole download thing is going to be a bone of contention in exactly the same way as things were when the CD came along. I personally have completely embraced the download option. Whilst it’s cool to have the physical product, you can still have the covers and artwork which come as a part of the download, and it’s at that point at which I begin the failure of understanding as to why there seems to be so much resistance to download. At the end of the day it’s happening, it’s going to keep happening and in the same way dudes desparately clung onto vinyl when the CD emerged, you have to face a certain inevitability that CD is gonna go the way of the dodo dude. The new generations of music buyers (our children and grandchildren) are not going to stand for the physical product and why should they. My 12 year old daughter regularly buys her music online. She downloads MP3 and /or FLAC files (where she can), listens to them on her laptop, converts them (in the case of FLAC files) to MP3 for whatever piece of equipment she wants to play it on (mobile phone, MP3 player etc) as well as creating her own CDRW’s for when she wants to use her hi-fi (a piece of retro tech talk there – impressed?). I’m 44 years old, not over the hill, complete techno-nerd and I think that’s simply marvellous because not only do we save on space through having to store the physical product, not only do we have full control over how we listen to the music we love (we all made compilation tapes as kids – and if you didn’t you need therapy!!!), not only do we have access to more music and a wider range than ever before, we also save on the expense – no postage costs and instant access to the purchase. I won’t go into the sound quality issue because I personally feel that in reality, that’s going into the realms of anal retention, and whatever loss is incurred, it’s a minimalistic price to pay for the ultimate and mind-boggling obvious benefits download online give.

It’s called progress, so at the end of the day, get over it, live with it, embrace it and reap it’s benefits. I did, and I smile often.

Neil Fellowes – December 2009

When Christopher Westcott (aka Lord of the Ants) sent me 4 tracks from his proposed instrumental music project “Quantum Voodoo” earlier this year, I wasn’t quite sure what to make of a demo that included tracks titled “Something killed my Dog”, and “Monkey Gun” not to mention the title track. But from the moment I put the CDr in my player, I was hooked! I didn’t know what this guy was on, but I figured it was the same substance we took when recording the Code Indigo album “Uforia” all those years ago, because that, amongst many other things, is what this crazy, wonderful and quite frankly inspired alternative music reminded me of! Okay, okay, so it’s my label and I’m going to biased, but hey, do yourself a favour and listen to this album because it really IS that good. Modern rhythms, but not too modern, superb guitar that’s never in your face, great use of samples, humor, (there’s not not enough humor in music these days) but more than anything, great musical ideas that grab you and won’t let go. It’s great electronica music or chill-out music, whichever term you prefer, full of mood and mystery and like I said, just the occasional tongue in cheek moment to put a smile on your face. Truly brilliant, and if the CD market for new artists in the genre wasn’t so dead, it’d be on CD no problem. Go on, I dare you…………….succumb to Quantum Voodoo. More information on the AD Music online store including purchase details and additional free MP3 downloads from Lord of the Ants.

This special download album, which can also be obtained as a double CDR from AD Music, is a collection of live and studio instrumental music recordings spanning the 10 year period 1998 to 2008. It isn’t a selection of out takes or songs deemed not good enough for CD release, but songs that didn’t make it onto CD because they just didn’t fit the mood or style of what I was working on at the time.  In some instances, the original idea became something else, but all the music contained on Sines of Life Volume 2 is music that I would happily have seen released on CD.

There are live versions of Rysheara and Nomad from 2005 that until recently I didn’t even realise we’d recorded, so I’m really pleased that these can now be heard. “First Call” was actually originally intended to be on “Threesixzero” but I submitted the music for Code Indigo ‘Uforia’ and it became “The Call”.  Kaleidascope has been remixed and remastered from the version previously made available as a download and the gentle “Crystal Clouds” eventually became the intro to a track on Dreams and Distant Moonlight. The track “Cosmosis” was recorded live in 2008 with Klaus Hoffmann-Hoock playing the Memotron and “A Night in September” was intended to be performed at a USA concert in 2007.

The track “Passing Through” was a commissioned piece from 2006 that I can now release, and “Depth from Motion” was another live track from 2007. “China” is probably the longest track I’ve ever done at 32 minutes, and one I have worked on, on and off, for several years and the closing track is a short, single version of “Walking with Ghosts”. So there you have it, 135 minutes of electronic music that for those fans who order the Sines of Life volume 1 on CD  before midnight on 7th December 2009, is available absolutely free or as a double CDr at a special price of £5.99 – thereafter it will be available as MP3 download for £8.95 and double CDr at £13.99 plus p & p.

With Christmas fast approaching, we’d like to take this opportunity to wish you a very merry Christmas and remind you of the exciting releases due in the next 10 days. Here is a brief summary, and there will be more blog postings on these titles over the next few days.

The new David Wright instrumental music CD “Sines of Life Volume 1″ is released next week and if you haven’t already taken advantage of the free volume 2 pre-order offer, then please don’t forget that the special offer ends midnight Monday 7th December. If you missed the details, then basically, if you pre-order Sines of Life vol. 1 CD before midnight  7th December, then you will receive volume 2 as a free download, or the double CDr at a special price of £5.99. The latest news is that the “Sines of Life volume 2″ download now comprises 11 tracks totaling a gargantuan 120+ minutes worth of music, so don’t delay if you want to take advantage of the special offer. Check out the AD Music website for details of how to order.

Also coming soon are several more great new download releases, also available on CDr. A new artist with an extraordinary new release is “Lord of the Ants” with the album “Quantum Voodoo”. What can we say? Well, we can tell you that if you enjoy highly original music that is diverse and of the ‘off the wall’ variety – think Code Indigo “Uforia” – then you will love “Quantum Voodoo”. Full of modern rhythms, lots of samples and some really great musical ideas, here is a tremendous new talent with a stunning debut. Available from the AD Music website now. Check out the Lord of the Ants free mp3 downloads as well.

We apologise for the fact that the new Callisto studio album NYX has been delayed again and the CD will now be released in February 2010, but for those of you suffering withdrawal symptoms for your fix of new Callisto electronic music, their recent concert performance at the Hampshire Jam will be be available as download and on CDr on the AD website from next week. The album contains reworked and extended versions of two tracks from Nyx, “The Lighter Side of Gravity” and “The Darkness of Night”.

A big surprise for Robert Fox and David Wright fans is the release of “Before Time”, a download album (also as CDr) of over 110 minutes of music recorded during 2002 and 2003 for the Code Indigo album “TimeCode”. Here on “Before Time” you’ll hear all the original musical ideas by these two talented composers, without guitar, vocals or samples – just plain synths and keyboards. The result is a fabulous musical journey containing previously unreleased music and arrangements of familiar Timecode music and it’s a fascinating insight into the writing and recording process and the origins of the Timecode album. Check out the AD Music website in the next few days for more details.

The forthcoming Geigertek album “The Timeless Mind” is now completed and is scheduled for release early in the new year. This a stunning electronic music follow-up to his excellent debut “The Garden” and a huge leap forward both musically and technically. More information will be posted soon, and you can keep up to date with Geigertek via his facebook and myspace pages.

And finally, a reminder about a great CD released recently; “New Day” by Steve Barnes. This is a lovely piano based album of melodic synth music, very much in the David Lanz style, and therefore high quality music and certainly well worth your investigation. Check out on the AD Music online store at http://www.admusiconline.com/main/steve-barnes.php for more details.

Once again, all of us at AD Music would like to wish you a very merry Christmas and a very happy New Year.

The Callisto electronic music performance from the 2009 Hampshire Jam festival is available from the musicziet website in mp3 (£8.99) and flac (£9.99) format as at midnight Sunday 29th November 2009. The album will be available from the AD Music website in 256 rate mp3 format and as a CDr as from 7th December 2009. Check out the AD Music online store for more details. For those who don’t do downloads yet, AD Music can supply a CDr version (only high quality CDrs are used) in a slimline tray with front & back cover art and on body print. The 63 minute set contains  two sequencer based tracks, very much in the Tangerine Dream style and are extended versions of ” The Lighter Side of Gravity” and “The Darkness of Night”, from the forthcoming Callisto instrumental music CD album “NYX” which is now rescheduled for February 2010 release.

AD Music is pleased to announce the extraordinary debut release; “Quantum Voodoo” by Lord Of The Ants. This download album will be available on 7th December 2009 and is a sensational mixture of various electronic music and contemporary rock styles, influences and philosophies. This is a truly original and spectacular album – an eclectic mix of dark ambient tones, dreamy landscapes, driving sequencers and screaming guitars.  ‘Quantum Voodoo’ takes you into a new musical realm – a place of magic, of unexplored themes, mysterious rhythms and inspirational new sounds.

Lord of the Ant’s own galvanic, compelling brand of electronica is heavily influenced by electronic music’s eager adopters, which dutifully include Tangerine Dream, Klaus Schulze, Brian Eno, Tomita, Vangelis and many other innovators of the early EM scene.  Other more contemporary influences include Radiohead, Code Indigo, Boards of Canada, Moby, Aphex Twin, Sigur Ros and Café del Mar.

Quantum Voodoo’s multifarious musical style and alluring abstract themes are designed to appeal to the ‘thinker’ in all of us – encouraging us to explore our own reality and to reach out into the fringes of our understanding and to ultimately confront our own beliefs and prejudices.

Lord of the Ants – Quantum Voodoo (AD78CD) (Digital release 7th December 2009)

1.    Quantum Voodoo (6:36)
2.   Something killed My Dog (4:39)
3.   Growl back at the World (4:52)
4.   Rock and a Hard Place (5;49)
5.   Monkey Gun (3;16)
6.   Noisy Places (4:25)
7.   Indifferent Sea (6:00)
8.   Hanging in Space (5:43)
9.   Ism (4:13)
10.  Borrow Tomorrow (4:37)
11.  World On Fire (8:52)
12.  Road Movie (6:48)
13.  Made in the USA (4:34)
14.  Los Angeles Lounge lizard (8:06)

Robert Fox & David Wright AD80CD (100 minutes download only) 1st December release date (price £8:45)

Before Time (Collectors Edition – the original studio recording sessions of “Time Code” by David Wright & Robert Fox)

This download album gathers the original studio recordings of the momentous Code Indigo album “Time Code” as composed by David Wright & Robert Fox. The album includes previously unreleased instrumental music and the original unreleased versions of some of the music to be found on the Time Code album. It is a fascinating insight into the compositional process, showing the original compositions and how they differ from the eventual album release after the input of Dave Massey (rhythms), Louise Eggerton (vocals) and Andy Lobban & Nigel Turner-Heffer (guitars) transformed the Wright/Fox compositions into Code Indigo music.

The music on “Before Time” was recorded live and edited afterwards to review for inclusion in the Code Indigo Time Code project, so there is a real spontaniety and live feel to it all that makes the whole album wonderfully chilled and compelling. The 15 Before Time” tracks are interlinked to produce one drifting electronic space music epic and it’s much, much more than just a rough draft – here are the original, sometimes quite inspired electronic music performances of tracks like “24am” and “Call of the Earth”, plus beautiful additional pieces that never made the final album simply because of the time constraints and the sheer amount of excellent material composed. And in the bonus “Time Code Exodus” track, you’ll hear further alternate versions and arrangements. This collection shows just how prolific Wright & Fox were during this period and it is a worthy companion to the “Time Code” album itself, and most definitely worthy of a special download release.

Before Time
BT1 (1:40)
BT2 (1:13)
BT3 (2:51)
BT4 (5:50)
BT5 (4:58)
BT6 (4:39)
BT7 (1:16)
BT8 (8:07)
BT9 (10:22)
BT10 (2:32)
BT11 (3:33)
BT12 (8:21)
BT13 (0:53)
BT14 (2:33)
BT15 (8:09)
Time Code Exodus (34:23)

Composed by David Wright & Robert Fox 2004
Edited, Arranged and produced by David Wright 2004-2009

Pre-order your copy of the CD “Sines of Life Volume 1″ now to ensure it’s with you in time for Christmas and to take advantage of our exciting and exclusive offer to get your “Sines of Life Volume 2″ download album, absolutely free! This second collection contains an additional 113 minutes of David Wright electronic music.

To qualify for your free download album, order “Sines of Life Volume 1″ direct from AD Music before the Monday 7th December 2009 release date. This “free” offer is only available as a download through the AD Music website. On the day your “Sines of Life Volume 1″ CD is shipped we will email you a download link to obtain the additional instrumental music of Volume 2 absolutely free.

If you would like the download album as a double CDr with your Volume 1 CD then please note the free offer only applies to downloads, so there is a nominal charge for the CDr. Please click the appropriate order button on the AD Music site at http://www.admusiconline.com/main/DavidWright-index.php

Sines of Life Volume 1  (AD69CD) CD

01. September Dawn (4:51)
02. Cassini – Live USA 2007 (14:04)
03. Walking with Ghosts – Live 2009 with Ian Boddy & Klaus Hoffmann-Hoock (11:59)
04. Beyond Paradise – Live 2008 with Klaus Hoffmann-Hoock (7:42)
05. Just an Illusion – Live 2008 with Klaus Hoffmann-Hoock (9:48)
06. Sines of Life (6:44)
07. State of Bliss – Live 2008 with Klaus Hoffmann-Hoock (11:54)
08. 3 a.m. – Live 2007 with Robert Fox & Nigel Turner-Heffer (3:04)
09. All Good Things………. (8:27)

**************************************************

Sines of Life (Volume 2) AD73CD Download album

01. First Call (4:58)
02. Kaleidoscope (10:38)
03. Depth from Motion (16:34)
04. Passing Thru (12:03)
05 Cosmosis by David Wright and Klaus Hoffmann-Hoock (20:55)
06. Nomad (alternate version) (9:49)
07. China (32:53)
08. A Night in September (5:13)
Sines of Life Volume 2 is a collection of tracks that were either unreleased live tracks, commissioned pieces, or music that never made it on to CD albums due to time constraints or because the tracks didn’t quite fit the feel of those albums. But they are all tracks the artist would like to have seen released.

So this epic 113 minute download is a fascinating and varied collection of music from David Wright available as a free download to customers who pre-order the CD “Sines of Life Volume 1″ before 7th December 2009. Thereafter the download will be available to purchase at £8:45 (or as double CDr at £13.99).

01. September Dawn (4:51) 02. Cassini – Live (14:04) 03. Walking with Ghosts – Live (11:59)
04. Beyond Paradise – Live (7:42) 05. Just an Illusion – Live (9:48) 06. Sines of Life (6:44)
07. State of Bliss – Live (11:54) 08. 3 a.m. – Live (3:04) 09. All Good Things………. (8:27)
(Total album time 78.40)

Release date: 7th December 2009

David Wright remains a popular figure in the electronic music scene and there has been increased interest in his music since New World Music took on the distribution of his extensive catalogue in 2009. “Sines of Life (Vol. 1) is David’s 20th solo CD release in a career that spans more than 20 years and the album has been something of a labour of love, as explained in the informative 16 page booklet that also includes lots of photos and details of additional music to be found on the download only “Volume 2″ album.

“Sines of Life – Volume 1″ contains new studio material alongside imaginative live re-workings of classic David Wright compositions from concerts during 2007 and 2009 featuring guest musicians, and it’s no understatement to say that it’s a majestic tour de force of instrumental music and new age electronica.

From the evocative opening “September Dawn” to the truly awesome closing epic “All Good things……….”, the music on offer here covers rhythmic to emotive, atmospheric to melodic and is mature instrumental electronic music with class and style that is nothing short of sensational.

The perennial favorite “Walking with Ghosts” is replayed as a brand new arrangement that is simply sublime and features another UK synth luminary Ian Boddy on keyboards and German guitar legend Klaus Hoffmann Hook, who also plays the Memotron.

Another beautiful reworking is “Beyond Paradise”, this time featuring Hoffmann-Hoock on electric sitar, while “Just an Illusion” and “State of Bliss” are again completely new imaginings of the original album tracks that here feature stunning cosmic guitar work from Hoffmann-Hoock.

The remaining songs include the atmospheric piano based title piece, a previously unreleased live track featuring Robert Fox & Nigel Turner-Heffer titled “3 a.m.” and a new interpretation of David’s popular epic “Cassini” recorded at his 2007 USA concert.

The production is superb and with a running time of over 78 minutes this fitting anniversary album provides both quality and quantity. If you’re already familiar with the work of David Wright, then this album really is a “must have” because the reworked live tracks are significantly different from the originals to differentiate this set from a traditional “Greatest Hits” compilation. If you’re not and you’re into good quality, melodic and emotive electronic music, then “Sines of Life” has more than enough quality to warrant your investigation and ensure your interest.

An album that’s destined to run and run and a terrific addition to an already impressive catalogue.

FINALLY…………

…………the second Geigertek album, “The Timeless Mind”, is finished and the masters are now with AD Music, ready for release sometime in early 2010. I’m very pleased with it and whilst I don’t want to sounded conceited, it’s sounding good with some strong moments and one track that really does stand out (“Spirit-Walking”) is going to be included on a forth-coming AD electronic music compilation CD. I find it interesting that the sound and the feel of “The Timeless Mind” is a long way off what I originally planned and a couple of tracks have altered radically since they were first recorded. It’s been a labour of love over an 18 month period, not least with two tracks needing to have their production stripped right back and re-done from the ground up which took a couple of months to sort out!!! Here’s a breakdown of the album:

01. The Stirring Of Echoes
02. Passing
03. What Dreams May Come
04. Until The End Of Time
05. In Another Light
06. The Embrace Of Eternity
07. The Timeless Mind
08. Spirit-Walking
09. The Gift Of Goodbye

As with “The Garden”, this instrumental music album twists and turns it’s moods and atmosphere’s, moving from out and out ambient to almost Berlinesque sequencing all within the same track in one instance. The opening track has an air of uncertainty about it, something waiting to happen played out over a wash of shifting filtered noise and small echoing bells. I’ve also indulged in another classically influenced piece (“Passing”), using the sounds of a quartet of piano, flute, cello and viola, bringing in a full orchestra before degrading the sound of a massive held chord through an array of processors (bitcrusher, harmonic filter, delay, granulator and lashings of deep and long reverb). The mood lightens with “What Dreams May Come” with it’s gentle sequenced harp and synthetic rhythms before a percussion section joins the build-up to the synth lead (courtesy of the freebie VST called Minimogue). Ambience returns with “Until The End Of Time”, an emotional piece that brings great washes of rumbling synth pads and swirling pseudo-percussion, before a delicately simple piano passage. “In Another Light” takes another step in a different direction as an abrupt start brings the listener back to reality with it’s piano intro leading into swirling synth pads and then settling down with an almost hypnotic rhythm playing against a wash of choirs, tinking piano, muted synth sections and a gritty overdriven synth lead – one listener claimed the pice gave them goose-bumps!!! “The Embrace Of Eternity” is a mixture of out and out ambience and pseudo-Berlinesque sequencing with a bunch of Radiophonic Workshop type sounds thrown in for good measure, finishing with an insanely cool flanged/filtered layered pad from the Alchemy synth. The title track has an up-tempo feel and is a kind of hybrid sound of trance and calypso with some lovely sounding synth leads from the Oddity (an ARP Odyssey emulation) and electronic effects – very Radiophonic Workshop in places!!! And the same can be said of the strongest and most commercial track, “Spirit-Walking” – bouncing sequences, persistant Giorgio Moroder style basslines and flanged hi-hats, guitar and a complete steal of the Billy Currie Odyssey synth lead sound – it works!!! The closing track is one that I’m pleased with. “The Gift Of Goodbye” closes the album in what I feel is a rather cool way – gorgeous lush choral sounds (my first foray into sampling using my own voice multi-sampled and pitch corrected using the Roland V-Vocal that came with Sonar 7 Producer), dramatic orchestral strings and a massive church organ – all before a quirky and unexpected finish – David Wright laughed like a drain when he heard it and couldn’t believe what I had done – I just hope people will get it

So now it’s done, what’s next? Sadly, because of time and work constrictions, I’ve had to shelve the Geigertek-Elektro project for now – gutted, as the singer Manda has a great voice and we could have put on a great set, but alas circumstances have dictated otherwise. That said, I’ve already started baseline work on the next Geigertek album, ideas are abounding and again a different approach will be taken as I want to explore other areas of electronic music, not least using more software emulations of classic vintage synths and devling further into sampling and sound processing. Work on a new Code Indigo album starts in the New Year with David Wright, Dave Massey and Nigel Turner-Heffer, something I’m very excited about, as well as preparing for more live Geigertek (awaiting confirmation of 2 or 3 gigs already) including the possiblity of doing web-streamed gigs from my front room – lol!!! I also want to look into doing an evening of music in Norwich with other local musos, I’ve bounced the idea off of one performer and he was very receptive to the idea – keep a watch on this space for that one. After the success of the Hampshire Jam, David Wright is keen to get Callisto playing more live sets next year and of course Code Indigo will be out playing live as well.

So all in all, 2010 looks set to be a busy year on the music front, and it’s nice to have things which will see the day of light rather than sit on back-burners. Involvement with Code Indigo and Callisto have really helped to move things forward and I’ve been quite lucky. It seems unreal that 2 years ago I was about to approach AD Music with “The Garden”, back then I would never have dreamt of playing alongside David Wright, being a member of Code Indigo, performing at events with Ian Boddy, Ron Boots, Brendan Pollard and Klaus Hoffmann-Hoock as well as sharing a dressing room with Radio Massacre International!!! And all these things are greatly appreciated as are the times before all this when the first pieces of music went up onto MySpace and I came into contact with a new group of like-minded people.

It’s all good

Congratulations and well done to the Organizers for another successful electronic music circus event in Beilefeld. It was good to catch up with friends old and new and despite not having the turnout expected (much like our festival the week before) the fans that did attend were appreciative and had a good time. The music on offer throughout the day was varied and of a high caliber and once again, the help and hospitality of the event organizers was excellent. As an artist, I had a few moans about the evening setup, but these were minor quibbles in the context of the whole day and the event was well managed and the guys really did put their heart and soul into it, and we can’t ask for more than that. Look forward to seeing everyone again at the electronic music circus 2010.

Okay, yes, apologies for the long delay. With so much time and effort going into the recent live events and the Shifting Sands album with Ian Boddy, Sines of Life was put on the back burner because of technical issues I had with a couple of tracks. Also, a decision was made to change the artwork. The album will be finished in the next week and will go off for production for end of October release, so expect it to be available at Hampshire Jam!

Sines of Lie volume 2 – At the time of going to press, this is a digital instrumental music download only album and contains all new material, some live, some studio, recorded over the last couple of years. More detail to follow.

So, back in the UK after the Beilefeld concert. Shattered after 1100 mile drive, had great fun with Ian Boddy and Klaus Hoffmann-Hoock. Our performance at Beilefeld was not as good as the previous AD Music instrumental music concert due to technical problems. We originally agreed to do the event to help the event organizers try and raise the profile of electronic music after seeing their efforts at last years first event. The problem this year was that, despite all good intentions, and this is NOT intended as a criticism of the organizers, who again did a great job on the day, there was, in my opinion, one act too many and the time allowed for two acts to set up for the evening show and sound check was too short, particularly given the very small stage area. In the end,  the last act suffered, and we just weren’t able to put on the quality of performance we would have liked, and for any artist, that is disappointing.

My initial response may have seemed a little heavy handed to some people, but it was an honest personal reaction from a musician who knew the performance was not as good as it could have been, and who was tired and a little disappointed at that fact. As I have stated before on numerous occasions, the organizers of the electronic music circus event are a great bunch of guys and they are doing a fantastic job for electronic music. Therefore my comments are intended as constructive to help for the future, not to upset or offend.

So, my advise for next years electronic music circus is, maybe consider QUALITY over quantity and ensure all the artists are given adequate time to set up and sound check. The guys did a fantastic job and tried really hard to make it all work, so congratulations and full marks to them for all the effort they put in to make it such a good day, because my moans are minor in the context of a very good event! Hopefully, if they’re still speaking to me, I’ll see them all in Beiefeld next year!

So, we’re back home and trying to catch our breath and chill out for a few days before we load the van again and travel to Germany for the Bielefeld electronic music concert.

AD2009……..was it worth the effort? Absolutely! On a personal note, it was hard work and I must have appeared a tad stressed on occasion, but everything was okay because of the great crew at AD Music who ensured that all that needed to be done, was done. It wasn’t the plan that I play twice, indeed, originally it wasn’t the plan that the evening performance be a combined 2 hour plus set, it just kinda developed that way. Playing twice in one day is certainly not something I would want to repeat or recommend. That said, did I have a good time? You betcha! It was great and a real thrill to perform with my good friends Ian Boddy and Klaus Hoffmann-Hoock, but I did miss not having any time to chat to friends and fans. So to those I wasn’t able to talk to, “Next time” and to the fan who I forgot to announce “Happy Birthday”, please contact Elaine at AD Music asap!

Anyway, the venue itself was ideal for such an event and a provisional date HAS been booked for 11th September 2010. More details to follow when forthcoming concerts are concluded and we’re back home. Look out for an announcement in late November, early December.

My Code Indigo compatriots did well considering they were also expected to help as technicians all day, Nigel in particular did a grand job co-ordinating the sound and lighting, while Neil Fellowes did an excellent job as the PR man on the day. Congratulations to them for a great set. A lot of rehearsal went into it and it was worthwhile!

What can I say about Ron Boots and friends? What a tremendous set they presented, full of energy, very dynamic, the guys clearly enjoyed themselves and that enthusiasm transmitted to the audience. Harold on drums gave the whole thing an added dimension and it was great to have Frank (FD Project) on stage as well, for what I believe was his first UK appearance. Rock on boys, the set was tremendous!!!  It was also great fun to socialize with them before and after the gig.

I can’t say too much about the evening set myself other than to state what a pleasure it was to play alongside Ian and Klaus; everyone seemed to have a blast – the three of us and the audience – and the two hours just flew by! Looking forward to doing it all again!

To those behind the scenes and on the stalls; Dave Massey, Ron, Mike, Dan, Anne, Dagmar, my in-laws Lynn and John, my son Steve and in particular my wife Elaine (man, does she have a lot to put up with or what?!) thanks for all the effort and hard work before, during and after the event. It was also great to meet Uriel who flew all the way from Israel to be part of the day and help promote his new album.

Thanks also to the fans for coming. Maybe next year more will come, because the only disappointment of AD2009 was that the venue was only half full.

David Wright